About

$11,076

pledged of $10,000 goal

69

backers

We have a dream! To open up downtown Savannah's only donut shop, serving up gourmet donuts, craft coffee from PERC Coffee, and even ice cream from Leopold's! Not enough for ya?!? How about tons of your favorite 80s arcade games! Best your Galaga high score while enjoying an expertly crafted latte. Reach a new level in Pac-Man while stuffing your face with fluffy, glazed donuts. Squash some Q*Bert baddies while gnoshing on an ice cream cookie sandwich. It's okay to cry. Happy tears, of course.

8-Bit Donuts will be located on the campus of The Guild Hall, Savannah's premier gaming destination. The Guild Hall already boasts a host of successful businesses, including The Chromatic Dragon, our gamerpub, The Guild Hall Arena, our 18+ gamerspace, and Jolly Goblin Games, our traditional friendly local game store. With plenty of space to play Magic, D&D, or any other tabletop game your heart desires, 8-Bit will offer more than just arcade games.

DONUTS, OF COURSE!! We plan to offer from-scratch gourmet donuts. And we're not talking about your average run-of-the-mill flavors, either. Clegg is a donutisseur (he just made that word up) and ran a successful bakery for several years. His ambitions are fierce! His imagination is vast! His belly is wide! Biscoff donuts? Scotcharoo Crullers?! PB&J Stuffed Donuts?! Cap'n Crunch Special?! Dude. There is no stopping this man!

But if arcade games are what brought you here, LOOK NO FURTHER! We plan to offer all your favorite 80s arcade classics, from Centipede to BurgerTime to Zaxxon to Galaga to Robotron! (We could seriously keep going pretty much forever...how long have you got?) Even more: we hope to offer them for free with the purchase of food and drink at 8-Bit! You buy a donut, we hand you some tokens! Is that cool, or what?!

Throw in craft coffee from our good friends and local coffee roasters, PERC Coffee, and you can see why this feels like a culinary dream-come-true.

But wait, there's more! What Savannah eatery would be complete without ice cream? Kill the heat on a hot Savannah day (which we all know is most of the year) with one of our treats that features delicious ice cream from Leopold's. Chocolate, vanilla, and most of your favorite Leopold's flavors will be available, either as add-ons to make your donut experience even more magical, or as part of a special creation by our team of donutisans (Clegg made that one up, too).

Not only that, but we'll also be featuring a CUSTOM FLAVOR designed especially for 8-Bit Donuts by Leopold's super secret team of flavor scientists.

What makes us think we can do this? Our amazing community helped us crowd-source The Chromatic Dragon back in February 2015. Ever since it opened two months later, our gamerpub has been more successful in its space than any other restaurant in the building before us. The Dragon offers customers console gaming and board gaming while they enjoy up-scale pub food, craft beer, and cocktails. Not to brag, but it's been called "The Disney World of Savannah" and "Oh my god I can't believe this is a real thing am I dreaming?" We couldn't have done it without our Kickstarter backers, and we hope that together we can achieve similar results with you folks on 8-Bit Donuts.

Check out this little video to see what kind of fun we've been up to at The Chromatic Dragon.

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We have less than 30 days to meet our goal to get 8-Bit open in January 2017! Read on to learn more about what we can offer and how you can help!

8-Bit Donuts is a team effort brought to you by the amazing people at The Guild Hall. You can learn more about us at http://theguildhall.com/team

Our team is led by entrepreneurs whose experience is exceeded only by their girth! (Actually, Chef Bret is the outlier here, but his beard is pretty fat!)

Clegg Ivey - Co-owner / Guildmaster / Donutissuer

Clegg is the man with the plan. Having founded more than a dozen companies since the late 90s- everything from tech to telecom to energy drinks to local retail- Clegg is dedicating the rest of his career to creating opportunities for people to have fun and play games. Also, Clegg loves pugs. He has, like, 14 pugs.

Jacob Heider - Co-owner / Technocrat / Lead Borg

Was there ever a piece of technology that didn't interest the man? Not since the mid-80s, at least. A talented programmer, network engineer, troubleshooter of ALL THE THINGS, and the driving force behind the technologies that make the Guild Hall's campus run, Jacob often thinks much like the computers he so admires.

Bret Gnat - Head Chef / Culinary Rockstar

Chef Bret is the genius behind the incredible menu at The Chromatic Dragon. With 20+ years of experience working in and running award-winning kitchens in the casual and fine dining industries, Bret is the craftsman behind the amazing desserts at The Chromatic Dragon: The Cake is a Fry (funnel cake fries), Jigglypuffs (tempura-fried cinnamon rolls), and Lakitu's Cloud (deep-fried Twinkies). Well, guess what?!?! Bret will be bringing those amazing recipes and flavors, plus a whole lot more, to our menu at 8-Bit Donuts!

Maximus the Pug - VP, Eatsies / Good Boy

Maximus has been a donut lover for as long as he can remember, which, in most cases, is about five minutes. He likes actual donuts, as well as donut-shaped toys. Maximus is not as fond of coffee, but knows a thing or two about Leopold's Ice Cream: namely, that it is delicious and he would like some, thank you very much.

Funding this project gives us a real boost toward getting the equipment and renovations we need to open our donut shop by January 2017. Our needs fall into 3 categories: renovations, equipment, and arcade cabinets.

---Renovation---

We've had the space at 530 MLK Jr. Blvd in downtown Savannah for almost a year now, but as many downtown buildings do, this location needs an almost complete overhaul to bring it up to code. Of course, we've already invested in making this space look like the donutisserie (another word made up by Clegg!) of our dreams. But we need your help to finish it! Without these funds, we won't be able to get this project done.

Storefront Windows ($1k-$5k) Again, the cost for these will all depend on what kind of glass we can afford and whether we happen to know any local contractors willing to give us a break! Hint, hint!

Savannah's Historic Review Board is psyched for us to replace the plywood-and-plexiglass facade with a real glass storefront. But massive panes of storm-proof storefront glass are not cheaply bought or installed.

Flooring ($1k - $5k) Half of the space is covered in some very old black and white checker laminate. And the floors are not exactly what you would call ... level. So, the cost here depends on whether we have enough to float the floor (making it level) and what sort of materials we can afford to cover the floor.

(Did a vampire take this picture?!?) It may not look like much now, but this is where our coffee and donut bar will live!

Ceiling Repair ($500-$3k) We can patch just the hole caused by a leak from the plumbing in the ceiling (you can see it in the pic below), or we can redo the entire ceiling. The latter is preferable, of course, but costs 6 times more.

Lighting ($500 - $2k) The space has ugly ceiling fluorescents and ceiling fans from the 1980s (which is sort of ironic, if you think about it) and we could replace those with more modern and inexpensive fixtures of the same size or (and especially if we can repair the entire ceiling) we can switch to recessed cans or something a bit less ... institutional.

With your help, we will turn this space into equal parts "tasty donut shop", "comfy coffee shop hangout" and "nostalgic 80s arcade". But we can't do it alone!

---Equipment---

We've got a hood installed already and we have our old oven, some mixers and glazing tables from Clegg's bakery. But we still need a variety of donut and coffee related equipment.

Donut Fryer ($500-$5k) - We need a donut fryer, and the better this Kickstarter performs, the better the machine we can afford.

Proofing Cabinet ($500-$1k) - We need a proofing cabinet, which enables us to set the temperature and humidity necessary to create super fluffy donuts. Again, if we raise more money, we can get a better proofer.

All the Coffee Equipment!!! ($2k-$15k) We can make it all happen with as little as $2k or as much as $15k, when you factor in the espresso machine, coffee grinder, brewers, and assorted thingamabobs.

--Arcade Cabinets--

This one just comes down to what we have left after getting the space ready. If we had unlimited funds, there is room for 12-15 arcade cabinets and cocktail tables. Generally, each of these cabinets costs $1,400-$2,000 to acquire.

Examples:

Galaga / Ms. Pac-Man / Pac-Man (Cocktail) - $1,400

Donkey Kong / Defender / Joust - $2,000

We will need about $50,000 to finish this space. Crazy, right? We are set our goal at $10,000 for a few reasons: (1) That's what we know we need to get the ball rolling on renovation of the space; (2) We wanted to start with an attainable goal and build from there; and (3) We've got some amazing stretch goals planned that will allow us to get to $50,000, if people really get behind what we're trying to accomplish in order to make this space come to life!

We've got some great rewards for our Kickstarter backers! Take a look!

Pledge $5 or more

Big Money. Big Prizes. I love it! You'll get a special thank you video from Clegg. Plus we'll put your initials on the High Score List on our website and in the shop.

Pledge $10 or more

You'll get everything from the Smash TV, plus a free donut once our shop opens! (You'll need to come to the shop for the donut, because shipping donuts is an achievement for another day.) Challenging Stage: Perfect!

Pledge $15 or more

You'll get everything from the Galaga, plus a super-snazzy 8-Bit Donuts sticker! Ribbit.

Pledge $25 or more

Prepare to Qualify. You'll get everything from the Frogger, but instead of one donut, you and a friend can come to the shop and enjoy 2 donuts and 2 cups of coffee once our shop opens.

Pledge $35 or more

You'll get everything included in The Frogger, plus Clegg will use your name and picture (if you fail to supply a picture, Clegg will draw you, like one of his French girls) in one of his epic movie trailer lead-ins that begin “In a world…” For example: “In a world of kitten memes and tinder dates, Griff Coleman was the only one who saw the end coming…Too bad no one believed him.” We’ll send you the digital file and, if you let us, post it to our Facebook page.

Pledge $50 or more

You'll get everything in the Frogger, plus the most incredible coffee mug in the history of the universe! Oh, and you'll also get an invite to our super swanky donut-filled VIP party, which we'll be throwing the week before we open. @!#?@!

Pledge $75 or more

You get everything in the Q*bert, plus you get a super soft, super stylish, premium 8-Bit Donuts t-shirt. Elf Needs Donuts Badly!

Pledge $100 or more

Yahoo! You're all clear, kid! Especially since you'll get everything from the Gauntlet, plus a dozen donuts at our shop once we open! You know what? Let's make it a baker's dozen! The Force is strong with this one.

Pledge $100 or more

Hurricane Matthew hit Savannah hard, but thankfully, the incredible men and women of our First Responder community were there to help us through it. Say thank you in the best possible way: with donuts! This backer level comes with everything from the Gauntlet, plus we will deliver a dozen donuts to the Savannah area police station, fire station, hospital, or EMT crew of your choice.

Pledge $125 or more

Dan from accounting is right! You are one of the few, the proud, the epically generous backers willing to go the extra mile down what used to be called W. Broad St. Once we send you a fake beard exactly like the one Kevin Klinkenberg used in our video, you, too, can show up at our staff meetings pretending to be "Dan from Accounting." Of course, you'll also get everything included in the Gauntlet. Plus, the fake beard. Did we mention the fake beard?!?

Pledge $150 or more

Fight like a robot! And robots are relentless and untiring, so you'll need a free game every single day for a year, starting the day we open! Of course, we'll throw in everything from the Gauntlet and invite you to join us at the VIP Party!

Pledge $200 or more

It's a donut party! Who could ask for more? Everybody's dancing, leave your body at the door! You'll get everything from the Gauntlet, plus pick up to 4 dozen donuts to take to your office, kid’s birthday party, Sunday morning brunch, or whatever you’d like! (Oingo Boingo album optional.)

Pledge $300 or more

Prepare yourself for annihilation! But first, tell us your dream donut, and we’ll take it from there. We'll make it just how you want it and we’ll feature it in our store for at least 1 week (maybe longer if it turns out to be super popular!). Of course, you'll get everything included in the Star Wars, but the dozen donuts will be the flavor you created! Long live Gorf!

Pledge $400 or more

OK, there are donut parties, and there are donut parties hosted by Clegg in a Chewbacca mask!!! Whether you love him or hate him, you'll love having Clegg dance and jape for your amusement while you enjoy 4 dozen donuts of your choice that Clegg will personally deliver to your office, kid’s birthday party, Sunday morning brunch, or whatever you’d like! You'll also get everything from the Gauntlet, which, let's face it, pales in comparison to Clegg in a Chewbacca mask.

Pledge $500 or more

Free donuts for a year! That’s right...pledge $500 or more, and you can come into the shop and claim a dozen donuts every month for an entire year! Clegg will also hug you at the VIP Party. It's on, like Donkey Kong!

Hurricane Matthew hit Savannah hard, but thankfully, the incredible men and women of our First Responder community were there to help us through it. Say thank you in the best possible way: with donuts! This backer level comes with everything from the Gauntlet, plus we will deliver a dozen donuts to the Savannah area police station, fire station, hospital, or EMT crew of your choice, every single month for a year! Also, for each backer reward you decide to donate to the first responder crew, we'll match your gift! Want to give them your t-shirt? We'll throw another shirt in! Mug? Now it's two mugs!

Pledge $500 or more

Ain't no party like a D&D Donut Party! Clegg will GM a private RPG session (game can be up to 6 hrs and use any of the dozens or so systems Clegg knows) for you and 3 of your friends at the custom RPG table at Jolly Goblin Games. Of course, you'll get everything included in the Star Wars, but instead of 1 dozen, we'll share 2 dozen donuts for the game! Prepare to defend yourselves.

Pledge $1,000 or more

Not just a vacation, but a "game-cation"! You'll get a 2-night stay in one of The Guild Hall's nerd-themed, 3-bedroom vacation rentals, located next door to the donut shop! You'll get 25 free games per day on our 1980s arcade cabinets. You'll get everything included in the Gauntlet, plus, we'll bring you coffee and donuts each morning of your stay. Wakka, wake!

You'll get everything included in the Gauntlet, plus Clegg & Jacob will create a classic arcade-style video game starring you and our donuts.

Pledge $2,000 or more

Lead On, Adventurer…Your Quest Awaits! Not just a vacation, but a "game-cation"! You'll get a 4-night stay in one of The Guild Hall's nerd-themed, 3-bedroom vacation rentals, located next door to the donut shop! You'll get 25 free games per day on our 1980s arcade cabinets. You'll get everything included in there Gauntlet, plus, we'll bring you coffee and donuts each morning of your stay.

Risks and challenges

One of the biggest risks for any local retail food & beverage project is navigating the red tape involved with licensing, permits, inspections, and, of course, getting that very necessary license to serve food by the Department of Agriculture or the Health Department.

The good news is that we've done this before! We opened The Chromatic Dragon in 2015, and that was 10 times more precarious because of the liquor license. Our team has also opened two bakeries in the past, both here in Savannah, so we have plenty of experience that many others don't.

Another risk for any new business is sufficient funding. We've already invested over $50,000 in the project to get this far and one of the things a successful Kickstarter will do, in addition to providing additional funding, obviously, is demonstrate to our investors that there is a market here in Savannah for the type of business that we have planned.

Again, we have nearly the perfect team for overcoming this obstacle. People said a gamer pub would never work. Not just any people, but people who have made their careers in the Savannah food & beverage industry. They told us gamers wouldn't come out to a pub. And they told us the ones who did would not spend any money. They told us we needed to have ESPN and girls with bikini tops and basically the same thing every other bar has. But we proved them wrong with The Chromatic Dragon and we want your help to do it again with 8-Bit Donuts.

Finally, we would be remiss if we didn't mention the very real possibility that Cthulhu, the Great Old One, will awaken from his aeons-long slumber and drive the world into a long, dark age of madness. But we feel like our team is ready for that challenge, as well. After all, insane Cthulhu cultists need gourmet donuts and craft coffee, right? And, with so many tentacles, Cthulhu would probably enjoy playing all of our arcade games at the same time!

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $35 or more
About $35

“In a World...”

You'll get everything included in The Frogger, plus Clegg will use your name and picture (if you fail to supply a picture, Clegg will draw you, like one of his French girls) in one of his epic movie trailer lead-ins that begin “In a world…” For example: “In a world of kitten memes and tinder dates, Griff Coleman was the only one who saw the end coming…Too bad no one believed him.” We’ll send you the digital file and, if you let us, post it to our Facebook page.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $42 or more
About $42

The Trivia All-Star

Are you a regular at Trivia Night at The Chromatic Dragon? Then this is the backer level for you, because you will get everything from the Pole Position plus 500 points on next week's Trivia Contest! Plus, you'll pick up your rewards at Trivia Night as they become available, which means you might get them before other Kickstarter backers.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $50 or more
About $50

The Q*Bert

You'll get everything in the Frogger, plus the most incredible coffee mug in the history of the universe! Oh, and you'll also get an invite to our super swanky donut-filled VIP party, which we'll be throwing the week before we open. @!#?@!

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $100 or more
About $100

The Star Wars

Yahoo! You're all clear, kid! Especially since you'll get everything from the Gauntlet, plus a dozen donuts at our shop once we open! You know what? Let's make it a baker's dozen! The Force is strong with this one.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $100 or more
About $100

The First Responder

Hurricane Matthew hit Savannah hard, but thankfully, the incredible men and women of our First Responder community were there to help us through it. Say thank you in the best possible way: with donuts! This backer level comes with everything from the Gauntlet, plus we will deliver a dozen donuts to the Savannah area police station, fire station, hospital, or EMT crew of your choice.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $125 or more
About $125

Dan from Accounting

Dan from accounting is right! You are one of the few, the proud, the epically generous backers willing to go the extra mile down what used to be called W. Broad St. Once we send you a fake beard exactly like the one Kevin Klinkenberg used in our video, you, too, can show up at our staff meetings pretending to be "Dan from Accounting." Of course, you'll also get everything included in the Gauntlet. Plus, the fake beard. Did we mention the fake beard?!?

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $150 or more
About $150

The Robotron

Fight like a robot! And robots are relentless and untiring, so you'll need a free game every single day for a year, starting the day we open! Of course, we'll throw in everything from the Gauntlet and invite you to join us at the VIP Party!

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $200 or more
About $200

The Joust

It's a donut party! Who could ask for more? Everybody's dancing, leave your body at the door! You'll get everything from the Gauntlet, plus pick up to 4 dozen donuts to take to your office, kid’s birthday party, Sunday morning brunch, or whatever you’d like! (Oingo Boingo album optional.) This level also includes an invite to our VIP Party.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $300 or more
About $300

The Gorf

Prepare yourself for annihilation! But first, tell us your dream donut, and we’ll take it from there. We'll make it just how you want it and we’ll feature it in our store for at least 1 week (maybe longer if it turns out to be super popular!). Of course, you'll get everything included in the Star Wars, but the dozen donuts will be the flavor you created! Plus, you'll get an invite to our VIP Party. Long live Gorf!

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $400 or more
About $400

The Chewbacca Clegg

OK, there are donut parties, and there are donut parties hosted by Clegg in a Chewbacca mask!!! Whether you love him or hate him, you'll love having Clegg dance and jape for your amusement while you enjoy 4 dozen donuts of your choice that Clegg will personally deliver to your office, kid’s birthday party, Sunday morning brunch, or whatever you’d like! You'll also get everything from the Gauntlet, which, let's face it, pales in comparison to Clegg in a Chewbacca mask.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $500 or more
About $500

The Donkey Kong

Free donuts for a year! That’s right...pledge $500 or more, and you can come into the shop and claim a dozen donuts every month for an entire year! Clegg will also hug you at the VIP Party. It's on, like Donkey Kong!

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $500 or more
About $500

The Defender

Ain't no party like a D&D Donut Party! Clegg will DM a private RPG session (game can be up to 6 hrs and use any of the dozens or so systems Clegg knows) for you and 3 of your friends at the custom RPG table at Jolly Goblin Games. Of course, you'll get everything included in the Star Wars, but instead of 1 dozen, we'll share 2 dozen donuts for the game! Prepare to defend yourselves.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $500 or more
About $500

First Responder All-Star

Hurricane Matthew hit Savannah hard, but thankfully, the incredible men and women of our First Responder community were there to help us through it. Say thank you in the best possible way: with donuts! This backer level comes with everything from the Gauntlet, plus we will deliver a dozen donuts to the Savannah area police station, fire station, hospital, or EMT crew of your choice *every single month for a year*! Not only that, but for every one of your backer rewards you decide to donate to the first responder crew, we will match it. You give them your t-shirt, we'll throw another one in Mug? We'll add one!

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $1,000 or more
About $1,000

The Pac Man

Not just a vacation, but a "game-cation"! You'll get a 2-night stay in one of The Guild Hall's nerd-themed, 3-bedroom vacation rentals, located next door to the donut shop! You'll get 25 free games per day on our 1980s arcade cabinets. You'll get everything included in the Gauntlet, plus, we'll bring you coffee and donuts each morning of your stay. Wakka, wakka!

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $2,000 or more
About $2,000

The Dragon's Lair

Lead On, Adventurer…Your Quest Awaits! Not just a vacation, but a "game-cation"! You'll get a 4-night stay in one of The Guild Hall's nerd-themed, 3-bedroom vacation rentals, located next door to the donut shop! You'll get 25 free games per day on our 1980s arcade cabinets. You'll get everything included in the Gauntlet, plus, we'll bring you coffee and donuts each morning of your stay.